Report: IP production benefits OTT over broadcast

UK broadcast industry professional media network Digital Production Partnership (DPP) has released the first ever assessment of where broadcasters, producers and suppliers can expect to see the greatest return on investment from committing to IP-based production. The DPP Survey Report: The Business Benefits of IP Production is the result of extensive research with companies from across the supply chain. The report was enabled by DPP Member company, Ooyala.

“Our industry loves the idea of innovation,” said DPP Managing Director, and author of the report, Mark Harrison, “but we sometimes struggle to articulate whether, when and how it makes business sense. This has been particularly the case with IP production. This report helps companies understand when, where and how to place their bets.”

Among the findings from the work are:

OTT trumps broadcasting

Production activities that supply direct to the OTT market are the ones that offer the greatest business benefits. Indeed, whole new businesses are being created by the opportunities offered by online.

Heavy lifting means heavy investment, but big benefits

Large scale events in UHD offer great potential for a whole new way of working through IP technologies. The rewards could be huge – but barriers to true end-to-end IP production still remain. Is the broadcast community paying for an expensive upgrade from which the global online providers will, in time, be the beneficiaries?

The greatest disruption sits in the cloud

If looking to gain early-mover advantage, investors should pay attention to IP-based media management, cloud playout and post production. This is where technology change could facilitate major disruption in operating models – and give meaning and purpose to other major innovations, such as machine learning, analytics and AI.

The research creates a picture of IP impacting every aspect of media production. It becomes clear that the industry is nearing a tipping point.

“Gradually, the industry is moving towards video flowing from the lens of the camera to the audience, wholly through IP,” said Emily Hopson, Ooyala Director of Media Logistics Professional Services. “It’s about keeping pace with the digital revolution and modernising production processes. Adopting IP-systems builds towards greater workflow efficiencies, personalised distribution, and, ultimately, higher ROI for every video”

TheBusiness Benefits of IP Production report was released to DPP Members at a special event to mark the second anniversary of the DPP becoming a Membership organisation.